This invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more specifically to gas turbine engine assemblies and methods of assembling the same.
At least some known gas turbine engines include a fan assembly, a core engine, and a power turbine coupled to the fan assembly. The core engine includes at least one compressor, a combustor, a high-pressure turbine coupled together in a serial flow relationship. More specifically, the compressor and high-pressure turbine are coupled through a shaft to define a high-pressure rotor assembly and the low-pressure turbine is coupled to the fan assembly utilizing a second shaft. Air entering the core engine is mixed with fuel and ignited to form a high energy gas stream. The high energy gas stream flows through the high-pressure turbine to rotatably drive the high-pressure turbine such that the shaft, in turn, rotatably drives the compressor.
To maximize the fuel burn in a high-performance turbine engine, it is desirable to utilize a high-bypass ratio fan that is coupled to a relative small core gas turbine engine. To reduce the engine cost, weight and complexity, at least one known gas turbine engine includes a differential bearing that is used to support the core spool from the low-pressure turbine spool. As a result, utilizing a known differential bearing in this application may result in relatively high differential bearing loads.